Stories from Monday, January 3, 2005

GRAND ISLAND -- The McCook High School boys and girls basketball teams posted a combined record of 1-5 at the Greater Nebraska Activities Conference Tournament Thursday through Saturday at Grand Island. The Bison boys defeated North Platte in the first round 60-48 Wednesday, lost to Kearney 46-44 in the semifinals Friday and lost to Norfolk 74-52 in the third-place game Saturday...

HAYES CENTER -- The Hayes Center boys basketball team picked up another win on Thursday, defeating Maywood 54-44. Hayes Center held a one point halftime lead, then outscored Maywood 16-8 in the third quarter. Hayes Center edged the Tigers by a point in the final period to secure the win...

In order to assist tsunami victims in Asia, McCook National Bank will be accepting checks and money orders to be forwarded to the International Response Team of the American Red Cross. The bank is unable to accept cash donations at this time. Proceeds from an upcoming bake sale at MNB will also be donated to the relief effort. Further details on the sale will be released when they become available...

10 members of the Republican River Riders Motorcycle club "geared up" for their annual "Cold Butt Ride" held evey year on New Year's Day, posing for a picture at Trails West in Trenton. The 34-degree weather didn't deter the group from riding approximately 50 miles on Saturday. Despite the near-freezing weather, the riders were better off than they would have been today, as an ice storm rolled through southeast Nebraska and the forecast called for several inches of snow in Southwest Nebraska...

When the New Year began, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population of the United States at 295,160,302. According to the census calculations, that was a gain of 2.8 million people -- or about 1 percent -- from New Year's Day of 2004. Problem is, the population gains are not evenly distributed. While Las Vegas and the Sunbelt states soar in population numbers, the rural regions of America continue to decline...

People have always been attracted to races, and man has had a love affair with speed, whether it be events like the International Olympics or races of automobiles or planes. The Indianapolis 500 and the stockcar races have been important testing arenas for mechanical advancements...

March 11, 1914-Jan. 1, 2005 Julia Maudlee Urling, 90, died Saturday (Jan. 1, 2005) at Hillcrest Nursing Home in McCook. She was born March 11, 1914, to John and Alice (Eby) Nolan in Cambridge. She spent her early years in Arapahoe and went to school there. She and her sister moved to McCook and she graduated from McCook High School in 1932. She received her beautician education from Hastings Beauty Academy and was licensed by the State of Nebraska...

March 15, 1931-Dec. 30, 2004 WAUNETA -- Marlies Sophia (Haarberg) Gauger, 73, died Thursday (Dec. 30, 2004) at Chase County Community Hospital in Imperial. She was born March 15, 1931, to Henry and Elise (Nordhausen) Haarberg in Chase County, near Wauneta. She attended school at St. Paul's Parochial School and graduated from Wauneta High School in 1949...

June 3, 1926-Jan. 1, 2005 LEXINGTON -- Delores "Dee" Harder, 78, of Lexington, died Saturday (Jan. 1, 2005) at Cozad Community Hospital in Cozad. She was born June 3, 1926, in Oak Creek, Colo., to Hartley and Blanche McKenzie. She grew up in Benkelman, Nebraska where she graduated high school...

Oct. 18, 1919-Dec. 31, 2004 John Francis Coyle, 85, died Friday (Dec. 31, 2004) at Community Hospital of McCook. He was born Oct. 18, 1919, to John and Amanda (Wendele) Coyle at Culbertson. He attended and graduated from the Nebraska School of Agriculture in Curtis in 1939. He lived in Frontier and Hitchcock County all his life...

Feb. 14, 1918-Dec. 30, 2004 CAMBRIDGE -- Beulah Harriet Mousel Trumble, 86, of Cambridge, died Thursday (Dec. 30, 2004). She was born Feb. 14, 1918, in Blackfoot, Idaho, to Grace and Harry Babbitt. She was adopted by her aunt and uncle, Robert and Pluma Mousel. Beulah graduated from Cambridge High School in 1934 at the age of 16 and attended college in Hastings. She taught school in Welfleet and Danbury...

GRETNA -- John and Amy Oetting, of Gretna, announce the birth of their daughter, Madeline Mae Oetting, Oct. 14, 2004 at the Methodist Hospital in Omaha. She was 6 pounds, 10 ounces and 20 3/4 inches long. Grandparents are Keith and Nadine Oetting of McCook and Leonard and Susan Tomlyn of Percival, Iowa. Great-grandparents are Edgar Oetting of Concordia, Mo., Carl Rose of Hamburg, Iowa and Kenneth and Betty Peters of Wausa...

Dec. 6, 1942-Jan. 1, 2005 Bonnie Nadine Sevier, 62, of McCook died Saturday (Jan. 1, 2005) at Community Hospital. She was born Dec. 6, 1942, in Hayes County, the youngest child of Nathan Lee and Dorothy Pearl (French) McNutt. She married George Campbell in California and to this union one son was born. Bonnie taught school for 27 years. She taught in Grant, Sargent, Douglas and Hayes Center...